I know very little about French history. The first time I heard about the "Dreyfus Incident" was when I was watching a documentary that revealed the mystery of Zola's death. In the film, the explorer mentioned that this great writer was criticized by the French people who had a high level of nationalism and anti-Semitism for publishing an article entitled "I Accuse" in the "Dawn". (In the article, Zola spoke out for Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer who was wronged as a "traitor," and he accused the government, army, judicial system and the so-called fair and objective "scientific Investigation".) Zola caused misfortune because he stood on the opposite side of the public and power. He was sentenced to a huge fine and was forced to take refuge in the UK. Zola and his wife died of gas poisoning in Paris on September 29, 1902. According to the speculation in the documentary, it is likely that an extreme anti-Semitist blocked the vents of his home and carried out the murder. If this is the case, then the price of speaking up is too heavy!
The second time I thought about the "Dreyfus incident" was when the French government proposed to increase the registration fee for higher education for non-EU students by more than 10 times in October 2018. In order to oppose this motion that violates the essence of mass education and the French spirit of "freedom, equality, and fraternity", I also participated in several protest marches. In fact, the demonstrators are not limited to non-EU students, they are more French natives. They believe that the government’s unreasonable policies always start with foreigners, and then slowly extend the target to the natives. In the end, all the disadvantaged will eventually be oppressed-therefore, it is necessary to say to all inequalities at the beginning No, even if it's just a faint sound, even if the flames of war can't burn yourself temporarily. Hearing these voices, I was deeply moved: as a disadvantaged foreigner, I can be supported by strangers who have not been affected. It feels like countless Zola is shouting out for those who can't speak out in indignation!
In mid-November 19, "I Accuse" was released in France. When I saw the poster of the subway station, I was instantly attracted. In order to prevent the lack of historical knowledge from causing difficulty in viewing movies, I specifically looked for new French documentaries to watch.
In the documentary, the most special character in the incident, George Picard, immediately aroused my interest. The officer investigating the Dreyfus incident was originally responsible for the final blow to the so-called "traitor", but he discovered many doubts during the investigation. After pulling the cocoon, he finally found out the real traitor-Esterhazy. However, in order to maintain the "authority" and "dignity" of the army and to protect their own status from threats, the superiors rejected Picard's request to rectify Dreyfus's name. They sent him to North Africa to suppress the colonial uprising. On the battlefield, I look forward to getting rid of this trouble forever. To me, Picard knew he would endanger himself and chose the image of justice is very stalwart.
Polanski obviously also noticed the complexity of this character between the "good and evil" choices, and he launched the whole film narrative as the core of the latter. However, unlike the heroic Picard in my heart, the director portrays him as an ordinary person who sticks to his duties and beliefs-he has multiple aspects: serious workers, adulterers, anti-Semitism, he is like you I'm not perfect, but he also uses ordinary things like you and me to accomplish extraordinary things. At the end of the film, Dreyfus, who had returned to the army, restrained himself and said to the "heritor" Picard who reversed his case: "You just did your duty." Yes, people who have faith in that generation. In terms of loyalty to one's own beliefs is just the most basic ethics. Dreyfus did the same. Even after being held in isolation for four or five years and unable to communicate with anyone, he had no complaints against the country and the army after regaining his freedom. He even went to the frontline of World War I to fight for the country.
Today, when the grand narrative seems very suspicious, what should we-scattered and fragmented individuals-stick to? As a social person, what is the individual's community imagination? After thinking about it again and again, the extremely individualistic me is still affected by the "Dreyfus Incident" because individuals such as Zola and Picard defend the "insignificant" and small existence in the big history. I think that after being nurtured by the humanistic spirit for several years, I choose to stick to and defend like them. As Haruki Murakami said: "If there are strong high walls and broken eggs against the wall, I will always stand by the side of the eggs."
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